Compared to the Analects of Confucius, this is a shorter, easier read, but like that work, I’m sure it benefits from reading in multiple translations and from reading more about it-not just of it. There are also certain ideas that are repeated in nearly identical phrases in different parts of this very short work. Like the Analects of Confucius, there are passages that are corrupted and whose meaning is either unfathomable or in dispute. Instead, the contents of the Tao Te Ching seem to be a distillation and compilation of early Daoist thought. Lau points out in his highly readable introduction to this Penguin Classics edition, it is highly unlikely that Lao Tzu was an acutal person, despite stories of Confucius once going to see him.

'I have read many translations of this ancient text but Mitchell's is by far the best.As D.C.

The obscure has been made transparent and available.' - Common Boundary 'Mitchell's great talent is to communicate with the profound simplicity utterly appropriate for this task.

'I read the Stephen Mitchell translation of the Tao Te Ching in one sitting, three times. 'Beautiful and accessible the English, as 'fluid as melting ice, ' is a joy to read throughout.' - The New Republic Stephen Mitchell's bestselling version has been widely acclaimed as a gift to contemporary culture. In eighty-one brief chapters, Lao-tzu's Tao Te Ching, or Book of the Way, provides advice that imparts balance and perspective, a serene and generous spirit, and teaches us how to work for the good with the effortless skill that comes from being in accord with the Tao-the basic principle of the universe. It embodies the virtues its translator credits to the Chinese original: a gemlike lucidity that is radiant with humor, grace, largeheartedness, and deep wisdom.' - Huston Smith, author of The Religions of Man

'Mitchell's rendition of the Tao Te Ching comes as close to being definitive for our time as any I can imagine. The bestselling, widely acclaimed translation from Stephen Mitchell In 81 brief chapters, it looks at the basic predicament of being alive and gives advice to help achieve balance and perspective, a serene and generous spirit. About the Book In an all new look for this acclaimed translation of a classic, Loa-tzu's 'Tao Te Ching, 'or 'Book of the Way,' is the classic manual on the art of living.

Tao te ching stephen mitchell review